Reason #102395765 I Love My Day Job

One of my co-workers was gone last week for a training. What you have to understand is, he's NEVER gone. I've been there just over a year and I've taken more vacation days than he has. 

This can be a dangerous thing. The first time I left my office for more than a day or two, this is what I came back to:

If you're familiar with The Bloggess, you'll recognize Beyonce, the giant metal chicken. There were supposedly 90 cutouts of her all over my office. I think I've discovered MAYBE 70 of them. And this was a year ago.

So I've been biding my time, waiting for a chance to get my co-worker back. Which is tough, because he NEVER GOES AWAY.

Except for last week.

He was gone. It was my opportunity.

Now, after a year of plotting, did I actually have anything planned? No. I did not. 

Those of you who know me will not be surprised in the least.

Luckily, I have other awesome co-workers, and we brainstormed together. 

After discarding the "turn everything upside down" and "fill the room with balloons" options, we came up with a brilliant plan, if we do say so ourselves. 

This is what co-worker will see when he walks into the building in the morning: 

A room filled with packing peanuts! Except not. 

We taped plastic sheeting over the inside of his window and filled *that* with packing peanuts. But it LOOKS like the whole damn room is filled, and that's what counts. 

We even put some heavy boxes on the other side of the door and pulled them snug with an old computer cable. When he tries to open the door, he'll run into resistance, which will make him think it really is stuffed full with packing peanuts. 

The best part is, cleanup will be a snap.

The only downside is, I can never take another vacation again. Who knows what they'll dream up while I'm gone?

What I Learned On My Almost-Summer Vacation

I admit it. The main reason I flew down to LA last week for the pilot of I Hate My Teenage Daughter was to see Eric Sheffer Stevens perform live. (You might have picked up on that detail in previous posts. There were some subtle clues.) But I was also interested in seeing just what goes on behind the scenes during the filming of a TV show. So this was a chance to meet two goals at once! (And sharing that experience with friends was a definite bonus!)

The first thing I noticed as we entered the studio was the set construction pieces all around us, and the black curtains masking so many parts of the set and the studio. We were led to a stadium-style seating area, with approximately 200 chairs set up for the audience. There was a DJ spinning tunes at a sound system at the back of the audience section, lots of upbeat and dance-oriented tunes. A big section of the middle seating area was empty, and those seats were reserved for (we assumed) friends and family of the cast and crew.

The entire audience area was surrounded by black curtains that hung down from a framework, low enough to mask the microphones and monitors that lined the front of the seating, but short enough we could see the sets and equipment in front of us.

There were three sets visible (well, partially; the tops of the sets were visible, while the rest was blocked off by black partitions). Directly in front of us was the kitchen set, to the left was a living room set, and to the right was a coffee shop set. Later we discovered there was a high school hallway and principal's office set off to the side of the seating area. We couldn't see it, but while they were filming there, we could watch on the monitors.

There were many people walking around on the set, and more clustered around equipment. It was clear that there were a LOT of people involved in the filming of this one episode, and I remember thinking how many people would be affected by the decision of the network whether to pick up the show or not. (Apparently FOX has optioned eight half-hour comedies this season, with space for likely two or three of them. IHMTD is the only multi-camera comedy of the bunch.)

It's cold on set; I was glad I had a coat. I always assumed that they kept the studios cold so the heat of the lighting wouldn't be too much for the actors. But apparently it was too cold even for the stars, because Jaime Pressly mentioned the chill, and would wrap up in a sweatshirt between takes.

The first scene was in the kitchen set. Each scene is filmed multiple times, with adjustments to the script and performance in each take. I was impressed with the writers' ability to take note of audience reactions, rewrite/change jokes on the fly, and hand the revised scripts to the actors, who would learn their new lines and perform them - all without an unreasonable amount of downtime. For example, one of the jokes really fell flat in the first scene. The writers changed it, the actors performed it, and the audience gave the new joke one of the biggest laughs of the evening.

After the scenes are filmed two or three times, the director may decide to film just a short part of the scene over - one conversation, a few lines, even some stage business. The actors are careful to start and end in the same spot on set for each section, presumably so they can be cut together later if necessary. The camera work is also decided on prior to filming - as we watched on the monitor, we saw the cuts and changes as they would be in the finished product. The filming seemed to go quite smoothly to me, with the actors knowing their lines and stage direction very well.

There were only a few flubs and stops, one of which was when Eric said a line and immediately followed it with "no, I don't want to say it that way. Go back?" Which they did.

Between takes, or when the scenes were switching between sets, the warm-up guy would try to keep the audience interested and enthusiastic. When he wasn't busy making me look like a creeper, he arranged a dance-off, put together the dating game for another audience member, and auctioned off a pie.

It was a fascinating process, and I enjoyed the experience very much. I'd love to go back again now that I know what to expect! Only this time I'll keep my mouth shut around the warm-up guy. And maybe wear a disguise.

Sorry I don't have pictures of the set/actors/studio, but any recording device is strictly verbotene. Tune in later this week for some pics of my time in LA!

Anyone Recognize This Song?

I've been all over the intarwebs looking for the song used in this commercial. No one seems to know the title or the artist. If anyone out there has a clue, I'd be forever grateful!

And even if you're pretty sure you don't know it, you should go ahead and check out the commercial anyway. It's pretty cool. :)

RT Week -- Where To Find Me!

In just a few hours I'll be heading to Ohio for my very first RT Convention. I'm by turns excited, panicked, giddy, and woefully unprepared. I have seventeen thousand things to do before my flight takes off, but before that happens, I thought I'd let you all know where I'm going to be this week, both at RT and online.

ROMANTIC TIMES CONVENTION - IN PERSON!

Wednesday, April 28, 3:30 pm -- Club RT. Come hang out with me and LB Gregg, Samantha Kane, Rebecca York, and Mari Freeman as we do whatever it is we're supposed to do in Club RT. (I understand there's something called a pose-down for the cover models happening then? Might be worth investigating...)

Thursday, April 29, 4 - 6 pm -- RT Book Reviews Awards. The winners have already been announced on the RT website, so I can finally tell you guys that Lessons Learned won for best Small Press Contemporary Romance. Whee! I'll be at the ceremony to pick up my award. (Which is still MIND BOGGLING to me. O.o)

Saturday, May 1, 11 am - 2 pm -- Giant Book Fair. Open to all RT attendees, and also to the general public for a $5 entry fee. Expand your TBR pile! I'll be signing my RT Award Winning contemporary romance, Lessons Learned.

Saturday, May 2, 2:30 pm -- Lunch with Lucy Monroe and friends. This event has currently reached its attendance limit, but if you're part of the group, be sure to say hi!

STAYING AT HOME? FIND ME ONLINE!

Monday, April 26, noon -- Reader At Home Conference, Lucy Monroe's Blog. I'll be blogging about getting ready for RT. Be sure to drop in throughout the week! There are tons of fabulous authors participating, and dozens of prizes being given away.

Thursday, April 30 -- Samhain Blog. Learn about one of my least-favorite activities.

ALL WEEK LONG: I'm not sure what the status is for internet access at the convention hotel, but I know I can twitter from my phone, so if you're not following me yet and want to hear the latest in real time click here. Warning: My twitter timeline is generally full of excessive exclamation points, capslock abuse, and talk of German soap operas.

As things change/get added, I'll try to update this post. And anyone who comments either here or on the Samhain blog post this week will be entered in a drawing to win a free RT-themed gift! (I'm leaving out the RAH conference post, because Lucy is already giving away so many prizes there.)

See you around!

Holiday Traditions

So in a few minutes the kids and I are off to the big city to watch the Nutcracker. I think this is the fourth or fifth year we've gone, thanks to my wonderful in-laws. All the cousins will be there, excited to see the show.

Afterwards, we'll go get pictures taken with Santa (can't waste the opportunity, especially since they'll all be in nice clothes!), and have dinner before heading home.

Then, later this weekend, it's time to hunt for a Christmas tree. (The picture is of a local tree farm that provided the White House Christmas tree a few years back.)

Just a couple of events out of a busy holiday season, but we all look forward to them every year.

What's your favorite holiday tradition? Remember, every comment is entered for a chance to win Margaret Mallory's fabulous new book, Knight Of Pleasure!

Forty Facts About Kate - The Countdown Begins

*note: these facts will be random and jumbled together, sort of like me.

40. When I was a kid, we had a cat named Muffin. Muffin liked to get, erm, amorous on the deck outside the family room before we had her fixed. Being a kid, I worried that she kept getting in "fights". My parents would respond by telling me to go practice my piano. Ever since then, whenever the topic of sex comes up, the stock response is "go practice your piano".

39. After my first book came out, Mom called to tell me she'd learned a whole bunch of new piano pieces while reading it.

38. My feet are almost always cold.

37. In college, my friends and I staged a fight in the middle of Red Square on campus. Our storyline? A couple was arguing with each other across the square, but every time one of us said something, another couple "translated" it for us. At the end, the two couples switched places. We took our bows and walked off.

36. I once sang karaoke in a Philipine restaurant in the middle of Munich. Under duress. (The person who'd taken us out to dinner insisted.) The song? Thanks to a dearth of English-language titles, I ended up butchering The Theme From Mahogany.

35. The year I started teaching at a junior high, I paid student prices for lunch for almost two months until the lunch lady realized I was a teacher. (Sadly, I wasn't even aware I was getting away with anything until it was too late.)

34. My first paid writing experience was winning first place in a "flash fiction" contest put on by the local community newspaper. I earned $75 for a story about a girl who turned into a pizza.

33. I'm left handed.

32. The first play I was ever in was Charley's Aunt, in high school.

31. My husband opened a bag of halloween candy yesterday and did not hide it from me. This was a tactical error. I have a very hard time saying no to chocolate.

More tomorrow! And remember, every comment gets you an entry into the prize giveaway!

Interview: Eskimo Kiss Project

Today, the lovely ladies of Eskimo Kiss Project have graciously agreed to be interviewed for my blog. Thanks for joining us, EKP!

(Who's EKP, you ask? Just about the best You Tube channel out there. Since starting to post clips from Alles Was Zahlt back in November of 08, they've managed to upload over three hundred videos, all edited, subtitled, and hilariously described by Lilith, Aldi and Shelly. I stumbled on their videos a few months back, and have thoroughly enjoyed their work -- and truly enjoyed getting to know them better through this interview.)

1. Which came first – the friendship, or the show? Did you three know each other before you discovered AWZ, or did you connect because you loved the show? And how did you first become aware of the Roman/Deniz storyline on AWZ?

The two kind of nurtured and fed off each other. Like some really scary obsessy time-chomping plant, only, uhm, nicer. We discovered the storyline via similar endeavours on YouTube, like the Christian/Oliver pairing on Verbotene Liebe. In fact, it was a persistent VL friend who first foisted “this other gay German soap couple” on us. Other channels had been generous enough to post the Deniz/Roman storyline, but we discovered that the show’s infamous theme song was right and we “can’t ever get enough” – we wanted more of the storylines and characters surrounding Deniz and Roman. This couple doesn't exist in a vacuum, and we found the community and its reactions to them equally intriguing and endearing. And so we delved headfirst into our active obsession with EKP and haven’t stopped since. (We suspect that if we ever do, we’ll need a patch!) But to get back to your original question, yes, we first connected through our love for the show but quickly became really close friends. We’re lucky enough to be pretty much all on the same wavelength of crazy, which is really a necessity when you spend so much time in each other’s (virtual) hair.

2. Where did you get the name "eskimokissproject"? Are there any other shorthand names/titles/phrases that people might like to know before delving into the world of Roman/Deniz fandom?

The name comes from a brief but legendary moment in the landmark episode 299, where the boys share an affectionate noserub while giggling on the ice. It’s small moments like this that endeared this show to us so much – as ever, the devil’s in the details, and details like that (natural, spontaneous, and lovely) made the characters really come alive. As for other phrases and names, oh, they are legion, from [Angry Turkish], which we insert when Deniz's dad rants, to "Asshole=I love you" referring to Roman's tendency to tell Deniz what an infuriating yet irresistible tool he is. And we’re still quite fond of our original tagline, “My parents had to flee to Asia!” That was on the screenshot of our first ever video and has since become both a synonym for “hare-brained yet hilarious plot we must cover” and an acceptable response in all sorts of social situations. You’d be amazed how many scenarios it fits.

3. If I remember correctly, you don't live in close proximity. Where do you hail from, and how does that work when putting together the clips for YouTube?

The EKP Brain was born of the frozen tundra. Split into three parts by an evil Steinkampian plot, the Brainthirds were cast adrift, settling in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand. In terms of doing the clips, it’s really no problem, since none of us actually pay any attention to such silliness as normal hours, night/day distinctions, the time/space continuum, etc. Technology is a beautiful thing. So is mind-melding.

4. Describe your work on a typical episode. How do you put it together?

AWZ airs at 7:05pm in Germany, which is 1:05pm for Lil and Shelly and crazy pre-dawn silly time for Aldi. So work begins with buckets of coffee and an AIM chatroom, where we watch the episode on the RTL site, flailing/grumbling/yawning as appropriate and figuring out how much of the episode we want to cover. Aldi (the only one of us who actually knows German) works up clipping cues, Lil edits the episode, then Aldi translates/subtitles the edited clip, and Shelly puts it all together and forcefeeds it to YouTube (which may or may not cooperate). Somewhere among all that, we scramble to piece together a description (early drafts often run along the lines of “OMG WHAT” and “SQUEEEEEEE” and “WTF Show!”).

5. How do you manage to get the clips posted so quickly? I'm very impressed.

Thank you! It's all due to magic and coffee, with a healthy dose of obsession. Fortunately we all work out of our homes so we can be, uhm, creative with our time.

6. Recently, a hotly-anticipated episode was clicked on so much in the first few minutes after you posted, it managed to break the internets for a little while. Were you surprised at its popularity?

Very! First we thought it was a technical glitch, then we found out we were being overrun and descended into fits of incredulous hilarity. For the record, that particular episode was well worth the fuss. ;) [Note from Kate: I totally agree!]

7. Did you ever expect your work to get such a rabid following on YouTube?

We really didn't. This started just for us – a fun project among friends that we figured others might enjoy, too. We’ve been doing this for less than a year and were surprised to get 1000 subscribers so quickly. Now that we're pushing 2000, we're beside ourselves! Soon we’ll need to put out ads for -slaves- staff or something.

8. What's the best part of working on eskimokissproject? What's toughest?

Best? Sharing the awesome flailing moments, both with each other and then again once we post. Worst? Either waiting by our empty mailboxes for the paycheques from RTL that never come or inexplicable cravings for fries at odd hours of the night.

9. Did you have a hard time keeping the faith during the dark years?

Shared pain is better. We found hidden gems like Killer Virus (episodes 439-443), which turned out to be puzzlingly fabulous despite the cracky premise. And really, the darkness is part of what we love. Besides, there were always past days of glorious storylines to revisit, and now there’s even current awesomesauce going on. Having waited and suffered and moaned through the “dark years” and stubbornly clung to hope where there was none, we feel we’ve got a better appreciation for the good stuff. Or hey, perhaps we’ve just gone mental and made it all up!

10. One of my favorite parts of your eskimokissproject channel is the descriptions you write for each episode. I've found myself cutting-and-pasting paragraphs to friends who don't even follow DeRo, just because they're so hilariously well-written. What other writing do you do? Where can readers find it?

We're all fanfic writers, and dabble in original projects, too, although by necessity that gets backburnered when EKP is really busy. When we first got into this show, we produced a bunch of English-language DeRo fanfic, which can be found at http://delicious.com/awzfanfic but, erm… mind the ratings. None of these are exactly fluffy or innocent. ;)

11. Is there anything I didn't ask that you wish I had? Anything you'd like to add to this interview?

There’s an endless amount of joy in sharing this lovely, insane and occasionally infuriating creation with our equally lovely and insane viewers, but the fact is that there would be nothing to share if it wasn’t for a team of brilliant creative brains halfway across the world who work on making this show every day. So a big thanks to the creators, writers, directors and actors of AWZ, who we curse and slag off daily and with gusto but whom we also adore. Keep up the awesome! (And give us a zombie plot!)

A New Blog Thing: Theme Week!

Well, now that the freebie offer has come to an end, I wanted to try something new and different here on Kate Davies Blogs! So here it is, the inaugural edition of THEME WEEK.

What's that, you say? Theme Week?

Just for fun, all the posts during Theme Week will connect, in some way, to the chosen theme. They won't happen all the time (I'm not focused enough to come up with a new theme every week), but when the mood hits, I'll share.

This week's theme, I blame on Maia.

See, up until a year or two ago I read almost exclusively hetero romance. Then my buddy Maia decided to start submitting her work, and I offered to beta-read her stuff before she sent it out. And Maia writes m/m romance.

Wow! A whole new genre of romance to explore. And I'm not the only one. M/m romance has been growing in popularity recently, both in books and on TV shows and movies. So in honor of this first Theme Week, here's the schedule for the next several days:

Tomorrow, we'll be doing Book BIN Tuesday a little differently. I'm looking for suggestions for good m/m romance, both authors and individual books. So it's your chance to tell me what to Buy Now!

Wednesday, I confess all in Kate's Current TV Crush.

Then, on Thursday, I'll be sharing an interview with the creative minds behind eskimokissproject. You won't want to miss this one!

I hope to see y'all on the blog this week. And as an added bonus, all comments this week will be put in a drawing for a prize! (Possibly, but not necessarily, m/m romance related. I've got to mix things up a little, you know!)

Prize winners -- for this week, and for last week's Lessons In Trust drawing -- will be posted next weekend. So comment early, comment often!

(And stay tuned for next week's theme -- Young Adult fiction!)

A Great Video

On a lighter Torchwood note, here's my new favorite mash-up video. It's Torchwood as Pride and Prejudice. Brilliant!

Booksignings and Blog Tours

Last night I went to debut author Margaret Mallory's first booksigning. It was, by all accounts, a rousing success, with long lines and sold-out stock. It was loads of fun chatting with other RWA chapter members, watching the crowd, and seeing just how thrilled--and a little stunned--Margaret was with the event. Congratulations, again, to MM!

I picked up two copies, one for me, one for a lucky reader. All you have to do to be entered to win is post a comment sometime this week. Easy-peasy, right?

So on the topic of signings, the question of the day is: what author would you most like to meet at a booksigning? Or what's the most precious signed book you own?

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I'm guest blogging over at Leah Braemel's place today, talking about beach reads. There's a giveaway there, so drop on by and say howdy!

I *Heart* Libraries

I've always been a library person. The weekly trip to the library to check out a new stack of books was one of my favorite activities as a kid, and things haven't changed much since then. I still hit the local libary on a regular basis, and leave with a pile of books each time. Except now, I can add my kids' choices to my own. It adds up to a heck of a lot of reading material.


And that's fine by me. I'm a very fast reader - so fast, in fact, that if I didn't have a library habit, I'd spend the majority of my paycheck on books. I prefer using the library to used bookstores because I know that my checking-out habits encourage the powers that be to order more romance books for the system, which results in more royalties to authors. I also request books and authors all the time -- sometimes successfully, sometimes not, but it's always worth a try.

So I was thrilled to discover that my local library system had ordered my newest print title, Lessons Learned, for circulation. When it first came out, I'd considered donating a copy, but the librarian told me it would just be put in the Friends of the Library sale because of the cost of entering it in the system. And since it's small press, I thought the chances of seeing it on the shelves was slim to none.

I was wrong.

Somehow, somewhere, Lessons Learned ended up on their radar, and there are now four copies in circulation. And that thrilled me as much as getting my first author copies did.

I'm in the library. And dang, it feels good!

Book BIN Tuesday -- M or F?

A couple of weeks ago I attended an SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference. Part of my reason for attending was to earn credit toward my continuing teaching certification, and part was the YA fantasy romance book that's been kicking around in my head for a few years.

Anyway, one of the featured authors was Lisa Papademetriou, a middle grades/YA writer. There was a bookstore table outside the main meeting rooms, and I found myself gravitating to one of her books in particular.

I read it a couple of days ago and I'm so glad I did! It's actually a team-written book, with Chris Tebbets, and the two of them did a fabulous job creating a fun, frothy, sweetly emotional book about navigating the treacherous waters of high school romance.

Did I mention that one of the main characters is gay? Yeah, add even more turbulence to those waters. But it's not a coming out story. Marcus is already (mostly) out of the closet, and his friends and family accept him for who he is. No, that's not the issue.

The problem is, he's developing a crush on the boy his best (female) friend wants to date. And he's starting to think Jeffrey likes him, too.

Add in alternating first person chapters, where we see events from both Marcus's and Frannie's perspectives, fun secondary characters, and a humorous twist on Cyrano de Bergerac featuring an online chat room, and you've got a recipe for a fun, happy book.

I keep saying fun, don't I? Sorry, but it really is the best word to describe this book. I highly recommend it. So why not head on over to to the nearest bookstore and Buy It Now?

This, That and the Other...

On the good news front: The Devil Inside is now available on Kindle! I've been waiting for this to happen since January, so I'm thrilled it's finally up. Go forth and check out the sample, Kindle-folk! :)

My new hero: Pizza delivery saves abducted woman...check out the whole story here. It gave me chills!

A hilarious take on Pride and Prejudice: Pride and Twitterverse. The entire story of Pride and Prejudice in 140-character tweets! My favorite is Lizzie's response to Darcy's original proposal. :)

And congrats to Maia, who won the free book draw last week. E-mail me off-blog for the selection list!

When "No, thank you" isn't enough...

Check out this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDIgL4NQbNA

(Sorry, couldn't get it to embed, and it's far too late on Saturday night to fuss with it!)

MTA Monday/Book BIN Tuesday -- A Vivi Andrews Twofer!

Sigh.

You'd think I could get the "post-it-later" function to work on this thing, but noooo...

So instead of MTA Monday yesterday followed by Book BIN Tuesday today, I'm putting them both together in one, big, fantabulous post! (And, erm, apologies to Vivi.)

First, let's Meet The Author...

NAME: Vivi Andrews
WEBSITE: http://www.viviandrews.com/
BLOG: viviandrews.blogspot.com

TITLE OF FIRST BOOK: The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo, & the Poltergeist Accountant

RELEASE DATE: February 17, 2009

FAVORITE WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: Many moons ago, while sitting in a Kumbaya circle at a writing workshop, the presenter asked us each to write down three sets of three. 1) Three things that, if you could wave your magic wand and give them to everyone on the planet, would make the world a better place. 2) Three things that you would eliminate with your magic wand to make the world a better place. 3) Three things that make you happy, just because. Then we went around and shared our answers. They ran the gamut from Money to Puppies to Self-Respect. We were granting people Freedom and Understanding and taking away their Guns, Bigotry, and Embarrassing Bodily Functions. We got completely (and passionately) off the topic of writing, and then the presenter stood up and said, “The Threes are the things that really matter to you. If you aren’t writing about them, why aren’t you?” So whenever I start to drift, I sit down and write out a new set of Threes. Then I know what to write.

FAVORITE NON-WRITING STORY/SAYING/MEMORY: “Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” -Mark Twain

COMFORT FOOD: My dad’s spaghetti & chocolate cupcakes – though not at the same time.

COMFORT READ: Anything by Jennifer Crusie or Julia Quinn. Or Christopher Moore… Or Jasper Fforde… Or Stephanie Rowe… Or D.H. Lawrence. Or Jane Austen.

YOUR PERFECT DAY: Wake up. Swim out to the rocks at Ala Moana beach. Write. Hike Blueberry Loop with my family. Play with my niece and nephews. Ski Alyeska. Write more. Watch the sunset from my grandma’s lanai in Manoa Valley. Watch a baseball game with my dad. Catch a movie with my best friend and then spend three hours discussing it. Go for drinks and pub quiz awesomeness with my friends (at the mythical pub at the intersection of Washington D.C., Madison, Chicago, Minneapolis, Anchorage and Seattle). Curl up in bed and read until I fall asleep.

Now all I need is the ability to bend time and space to my will and I’m good to go.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?: At the moment, I’m putting the finishing touches The Ghost Exterminator: A Love Story, which features my Ghost Shrink heroine’s cousin, who also has a special relationship with the dead.

And to continue with the awesomeness that is Vivi Andrews, here's a peek at her new book!

It’s not smart to piss off a poltergeist…

It’s bad enough to be sexually frustrated. But as a medium, it means until Lucy Cartwright gets some, she’s doomed. Oh no, not to death. Worse. To nightly visitations by recently deceased, wanna-be Cassanovas without the bodies to back it up. Then a living, breathing fantasy arrives on her doorstep, and Lucy thinks her dry spell is at an end.

Much as he would like to be Lucy’s personal gigolo, PI Jake Cox has a job to do. He’s been sent to prevent her from getting laid until a particular horny phantom—and key witness in his mob investigation—pays her a visit. The real challenge? Keeping his own hands off Lucy long enough to get the job done.

Or the lonely, geeky ghost of a murdered mob accountant could rip a hole in the fabric of the universe…

*****

I don't know about you, but that book sounds like a *hoot* -- and hot, to boot! Why not stop by My Bookstore and More and Buy It Now?

And thanks, Vivi, for stopping by the blog!

A Little Holiday Cheer

Spaaaaaaaahhhh....

Last Christmas, the DH gave me a gift certificate to a semi-local women's spa. Now, the word "spa" can conjure up fancy-schmancy images. I know when my mother started talking about this spa she'd found in Tacoma, I was a bit surprised. She's more earth mother than "ladies who lunch". But as soon as I tried it out, several years ago, I understood.

It's a traditional Korean women's spa, with earth energy rooms, multiple soaking pools and whirlpools at different temperatures, steam rooms -- just about everything you'd need to turn into a limp noodle. And the women who go there range from college students to grandmas. No body image issues here -- which is a good thing, since it's not a place for modesty. :)

You can buy added treatments, of course, like body scrubs and mud wraps and massage, but it's just as much fun to pay the $30 entry fee and spend a solid half-day enjoying the facilities.

Observant readers may notice that I got the certificate last Christmas. Almost a year ago. Coincidentally, my Dad got one for my Mom at the same time. And with the holidays fast approaching, we both decided it was about time we actually used the darn things.

So Thursday morning I dropped the kids at school and trundled up the freeway to meet Mom at the spa.

It was *heavenly*. Almost four hours of relaxation and great conversation. We even decided that next time we'd have to hit its sister spa a bit further north, just to compare and contrast. (I have it on good authority that there are quite a few amenities the southern location doesn't have -- a charcoal room? a tea room? Nifty!)

Now, to just make sure it doesn't take me another year to get back to the spa.

How about you? Where do you go/what do you do to pamper yourself?

Quizzage Answers -- and Winner!

....aaaaand Kammie sneaks in under the wire! Yes, for a while there we had a tie for first with three answers correct. Then, before I could toss a coin, Kammie shows up with FOUR correct! Congratulations, Kammie!

So, are you curious? Here are the correct answers to the trivia questions.

1. What author does Kate want to be when she grows up?
a) Nora Roberts
b) Lori Foster
c) Suzanne Brockmann
d) Susan Andersen

Though I am a huge fan of all these authors, Suz wins this one for me.

2. What actor did Kate meet in high school when he dated one of her cousins?
a) Josh Lucas
b) James Caviezel
c) Rainn Wilson
d) Brendan Fraser

Lucky me! (Or should I say, lucky cousin?) I did have a nice, long conversation with Josh about our plans to become famous actors someday. Not that he'd remember it. LOL

(Josh is the not-quite-ex-hubby in Sweet Home Alabama, among other films.)

All of the other actors are around the same age, and all of them lived in the region for at least a little while -- so they were all plausible options. ;)

3. What romance author does Kate's youngest want to have a play date with?
a) Pat White
b) Lucy Monroe
c) Jane Porter
d) Julia Quinn

All my kids love hanging out with Lucy and her family. (All of these authors live in the same general area, though!)

4. What real life event does Kate always use in "two truths and a lie" to throw people off -- because nobody believes it happened?
a) Sang karaoke in a Filipino restaurant in the middle of Munich
b) Once auditioned to be a cast member at Disneyland
c) Married her husband after knowing each other three weeks
d) Published her first short story at the age of fifteen

Sad, but true. It was a not-so-subtle request from the host of the evening. Even sadder, the only English-language song they had I even sort-of knew was the Theme From Mahogany. All together now -- "Do you know, where you're going tooooo..."

5. Kate's "guilty pleasure" reality show -- the one she never misses?
a) The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency
b) Top Design
c) America's Next Top Model
d) Project Runway

I've watched and enjoyed all of these shows, but PR was the only one I put on my "appointment TV" list.

So, there you go. All about me! :)

So, congrats to Kammie. You've won A Flights of Fancy gift pack -- A Tinkerbell photo frame magnet, a Buzz Lightyear Disney Pin, a cinnamon votive candle, and a copy of Jane Porter's Flirting With Forty. Just send me your address and I'll pop them in the mail.

(Note: If you live outside the US, I'll substitute a different prize due to mailing restrictions.)

Arrr!

Avast, ye scurvy dogs! 'Tis that most important feast day, the one we look forward to all year. I'm speaking, of course, of Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Some fun in honor of the day:

Pirate Personality Test
Pirate Name Generator

And, of course, a little "Aye" Candy:

So enjoy the day! My Pirate name is Ham-Hands Misty. How about you?

Diva Contest -- Round Two!

Just in case you've been following the Romance Studio's Diva Contest -- Round One is complete, and they're now on to Round Two. Check out some great websites!